"Wall Street" sequel bogged down with jargon, details

"Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" is the first time Oliver Stone has made a sequel to one of his films—ever. This factoid sets high expectations for the film, which is indeed a sequel to the 1987 hit film "Wall Street" and if the film does nothing else it definitely sets a precedent.

Now, I'm not going to bore with constant and berating comparisons to its mother film because I'll be honest; I've never seen it. "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" seamlessly combines "current events" (up until 2008), the crippling situation and habits the world seems to embody towards money and spending, as well as very human themes of regret, revenge and most importantly greed.

As a complete newbie to the Wall Street scene and lingo I was honestly completely thrown off by the references to certain types of money funds and the trading jargon that was complete static in my brain. I repeatedly had to lean over and get the breakdown from my father. The film not only sets a precedent for Stone as a first sequel, it also translates the problems on Wall Street, and in human nature, from an unreachable stage to entertainment where people can see this allegory play out in front of them.

The film pivots on some of the same ideas from the last movie, I know at least that much from my father. A young trader, Jake Moore portrayed by Shia LaBeof, is working his way up on Wall Street with big ideas and charming charisma. He is also engaged to Gordon Gekko's (the main villain from "Wall Street" portrayed by the same, wily Michael Douglas) daughter, Winnie Gekko (portrayed by Carey Mulligan). When Moore's mentor and father figure commits suicide as a result of a refusal to bail out his company by the hands of Bretton James (portrayed by Josh Brolin), Moore is out for revenge. Conveniently, Gekko has been released from jail for seven years and has built himself a successful, but still menial career out of writing books and still harbors the intense regret of missing out on his children's lives. Therefore, Moore and Gekko strike up a deal where Gekko helps Moore gain his revenge on James and in return Moore gets him in with his daughter for a chance reconciliation.

The importance of the movie was almost lost on me and would most definitely be lost on others who cannot recognize the references playing out in front of them. There are mentions of 9/11, the real estate market, as well as greedy Wall Street firm hedge fund managers double dipping in the shares of their own companies. Even writing about the symbolic events in the plot line confuses me to the utmost.

The film's downfall also rests on the excess of real life events, combined with the excess of human emotions, which are both in cahoots to explicate everyone's greedy nature.

Apparently Stone wanted to title his 1987 film "Greed', but went with ‘Wall Street" instead. Stone would've been completely in the right to title this 2010 box office hit "Greed" because, in essence, the film really revolves around the idea that greed is good. The film then focuses on the disastrous results, which emerge as the ramifications for such a faulty way of thinking.